


Y'owl hunting.

by Ether Vibes (Vriskaserbet)



Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: Friendship, Humor, Pre-Flower Kid, Teamwork, Y'owl hunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-24 22:42:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22005664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vriskaserbet/pseuds/Ether%20Vibes
Summary: A look into one of Borbra's latest attempts to catch herself a y'owl, now with the help of the other Habiticians.
Kudos: 16





	Y'owl hunting.

The sun was low in the darkening yellow sky, causing the outside trees to cast long shadows over the carnival attractions. Borbra hummed, taking a long inhale of the sweet mountain air. Even with the slight chemical tinge, it was still quite refreshing and far better than any city air. Breathing in those toxic fumes everyday as she went to her humdrum office job until she returned to her depressingly empty apartment had done her no good. Nowadays, she was quite content with the Habitat, far more content then she had been in years. Her smile, though, still wasn’t as wide or brimming with happiness as it could. She just needed a little more, just a little boy and she would be perfectly fine!

Just as she began to get lost in thought, a familiar sigh caught her attention. She turned around, finding Nat standing by the gate with a bored expression.

“My little pal! Nat! You came!” she offered a hand to Nat.

“Yeah, yeah, I got your dumb invite. Be lucky I’m coming here.” she accepted it, Borbra shaking it aggressively. 

“Thank ya! I hope ya liked it, I used one of ‘em glitter pens. It made th’ card all sparkly and snazzy, right?” 

“Yeah, sure, whatever. Where’s that rare flower you found, anyways?” They were interrupted by a loud whistle, Marv walking in with his trademark fishing rod in his hands.

“Well now! Finding a rare flower AND discoverin’ a fishin’ hole in the carnival? You got eyes like the silver-tailed dinkler!”

“...Don’t know why you invited gramps to the party, but you and me gotta talk. This is getting seriously sketchy real fast. _No one_ lies to Nat Vancey.”

“Now, now!” she waved her hands, laughing nervously. “Let’s stop talking about this! Let’s wait until Parsley is here!”

“What’s going on?” Parsley asked, looking at everyone else curiously with a furrowed brow. “Is the food ready?”

“She’s lying to you.” Nat dryly remarked.

“Well. I’m out.” He turned away, only for Borbra to grab him by the back of his suit and placed him right back into his previous spot with ease. She let go, Parsley squeaking and staying firmly in place. 

Nat crossed her arms with a sigh. “Like, are you gonna explain or not?”

Borbra sighed, fidgeting with her hands. “Yes, I might’ve… fibbed just a bit in your invites. But I was gonna tell the truth when ya got here, honest! I just need some help and youse guys are the best people to ask for the job… _but_ you’re all so _fixated_ on your interests! So, I had to talk about that stuff for any chance to get you guys down here. Y’know, Nat with her flowers, Marv with them fishes and Parsley’s need to survive.”

“I _am_ starving to death.” Parsley commented, nodding.

“I really am sorry. Honest! I promise ya!” 

“Well… whatever, you’re like… not a huge loser. I forgive you. What do you need our help for anyways?” Borbra paused and reached into her pocket, showing them a photo of a y’owl.

“Since I was a kid, I’ve always loved these lil’ suckers. What with their long legs and their little round bodies! And their beaks, so pointy! Their big ol’ eyes, so adorable! I just wanna kiss their precious little heads and pet those soft feathers! There’s y’owl’s in the Habitat, I’ve seem ‘em! I’ve tried to catch ‘em, but they’re tough little boys. So, I came up with a game plan. Here, I made copies and everything!” She pulled out four pieces of paper, handing three of them out.

She held out her own and cleared her throat before speaking. “The first step is you, Parsley. I need you to stand near that burnin’ trash fire with a falconer’s glove. I’ll give you mine, it should fit. Just hold ya hand out. They come to ya! Only thing is that they’re fast lil’ creatures. Ya need to be fast on your feet to grab ‘em.”

“Well, I’m pretty good at catching my bus whenever I’m late. Even then, I don’t think I’m fast enough.”

“That’s where Nat and Marv come in! Marv, you’re talented with that fishing rod! Not just with catching fish, I’ve seen you catch bags of chips and hats with your hook! And Nat, you got the energy of a young teen! Plus, you probably inherited your dad’s fancy vampire speed, right?”

“Eh, maybe.” she shrugged her shoulders.

“I thought your dad was a mermaid?” Marv asked.

“...I dunno if he’s the right person for this job.”

“Listen, I just need you two to work together. You both have the capability for greatness! Just stand near Parsley. When the y’owl comes near his hand, surround the bird so it has no room to escape! Nat, try to chase it if it runs off. And if he escapes you, Marv can use his long distance fishin’ grab and get it hooked!

We have one real chance, so we need to give it our all! Whose with me?!” Marv cheered.

“I have nothing else to do tonight, anyways. You owe a favor for Nat Vancey, though.”

“...Are you sure you don’t have food?” Parsley asked. Borbra checked her pockets, tossing him a granola bar. He proceeded to eat the entire thing in one bite, wrapper included.

* * *

Parsley shifted a bit, the nearly pitch black sky causing a bit of sweat to bead down his face. He stayed in place, his gloved hand pointed at the fire. Nat was a few steps from him, still looking rather bored. Marv was a few feet from her, idly moving his fishing rod around. Borbra was back at the button pushing attraction, firmly holding her binoculars and kept her gaze on Parsley. The Carla attendant stood there in silence, an amused smirk on her face.

A few minutes passed before the silence was interrupted. A strange shuffling noise could be heard, Borbra looking around immediately. Nat quickly whipped her head around, catching something moving in the corner of her eye. Though, as she looked, it disappeared back in the dirt. Parsley gulped and forced himself to stay still. After a long wait, the y’owl emerged right in front of him. He stifled a gasp, looking into the y’owl’s eyes as it looked right back at him. It seemed to inspect him, tilting its head just so.

The y’owl backed up a bit, jumping up to fly briefly into the air. It landed right onto his hand. 

“O-Oh! Hey little guy… aw, you’re cute.” Parsley spoke gently, an equally gentle laugh coming from his mouth. With his other hand, he scratched under its beak, the y’owl letting a pleased hoot at the sensation. 

“Wow. Good job, Parsley.” Nat complimented. 

“Yeah!” Borbra raised her voice slightly, just so Parsley could hear her. “Great job, my little man!”

The y’owl decided to climb up the other arm, standing on his shoulders. “Aw, you’re so friendly! I-” he paused, when it suddenly climbed onto his head. It turned around in a few circles, before sitting down with another pleased hoot. “Uh… what is it doing? Borbra, why is it on my head?” 

Borbra took slow steps towards him, a nervous look on her face. “Okay… so, don’t take this the wrong way… but uh… well… it thinks that your hair is… a perfect nest!” Nat immediately began laughing. 

Parsley blushed darkly, his eyebrows flying up. “N-Nest!? Oh no, no no no! It can’t lay eggs in my hair! I’m not ready to be a dad!” He raised his arms, trying to scare off the y’owl by moving his hands wildly around him. “Get! Shoo! Shoo!!”

“Hey! Calm down, ya little man! You’re gonna-” It was too late. The y’owl let out a loud screech, flying into the air and attempting to scratch at Parsley’s face. Parsley yelled, Nat’s eyes went wide, Borbra gasped and Marv let out a short shout. Quickly, Marv readied his fishing rod, pulling it back a bit before throwing the hook out strongly. 

As he did, Nat made her own move by running towards Parsley. She bared her fangs and hissed, attempting to scare the y’owl off. The move caused the y’owl to fly down, attempting to attack her instead. Thus, the y’owl avoided the hook at the last second, the hook instead catching Parsley’s hair. Nat and Parsley let out high pitched screams, with the former trying to shield her face while the latter tried to yank the hook out immediately. 

Marv panicked, pulling on the rod to get it dislodged. It was already tangled into his thick hair and the sudden pull caused him to lose his balance, falling right onto Nat with a heavy thud. The y’owl let out an angry screech and finally took off, flying off into the night. 

Borbra stood there for a long moment, before she sheepishly laughed. “Good try, team!”

**Author's Note:**

> Long time no write! :-) Getting back into the swing of things. This was my piece for the Smile For Me zine, which you should all go check out. Working with everyone was a BLAST! And the end product is just SO amazing, everyone is just so talented and wonderful. It's free to download, so!! Yeah!!
> 
> Follow my art/writing blog: @ethervibes on Tumblr! My personal blog is @transfemhabit, where I reblog content! Feel free to talk to me on either account! Please leave a kudos/bookmark/comment if you enjoyed this, that means the world to me. Have a great day/night!  
> :-D


End file.
